“The Root of All Evil” in Valieva’s 4th Place– Does Russia Have a Special Hold to IOC?

Kamila Waliyeva (Russian Olympic Committee, ROC), the 15-year-old female figure skater who was allowed to participate in the Beijing Olympics despite testing positive for doping at the end of last year, fell twice in her free skate on the 17th. On the 17th, 15-year-old Kamila Walieva (Russian Olympic Committee, ROC), who was allowed to compete in the Beijing Olympics despite the fact that she had fallen twice in her free skate, made a series of mistakes and unexpectedly placed 4th. Kaori Sakamoto won the bronze medal.

It’s not the Olympics, it’s an ice show.

After the team competition, Waliyeva was ranked first in the short program (SP) on March 15, and had a good chance to be ranked first in the individual competition as well. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided not to hold a medal ceremony for her if she finished in the top three, which was an unusual situation. While this may seem to have “saved the day” for Wallieva as she failed to medal in the end, the real issue is not so simple.

This year’s women’s figure competition has turned into a mere ice show.

Toshiki Tsuda, a sports writer who has covered the Winter Olympics and is a part-time lecturer at Kokushikan University, has come under fire from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The IOC, which has been covering the Winter Olympics for years, is a sports writer and lecturer at Kokushikan University. We were unable to take a decisive stance, but the clever Russians took advantage of this and the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) ruled that we could compete. It was a complete defeat.

Although the medal ceremony will be held after Waliyeva’s provisional fourth-place finish, she is guilty of upsetting and disappointing the athletes who put their heart and soul into winning the medal.

It is no exaggeration to say that top athletes are monitored by anti-doping agencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

There have even been cases where police officers have rushed to the scene after having trouble with inspectors who suddenly visit their homes late at night to ask for urine samples. Athletes never leave their seats without drinking water in plastic bottles. This is because they are wary of being laced with banned substances during that time. Even taking a single dose of cold medicine is a nerve-wracking experience. It’s all your own responsibility, and the mental pressure is not half bad.

While the majority of athletes are ridiculously honest and serious about their work, they are able to stand proudly on the Olympic stage even though they have tested positive. This is an outrage that goes against the spirit of fair play, and it is only natural to direct our anger at the IOC.

Why does the IOC give special treatment to Russia, which was found to have engaged in extremely vicious doping by switching samples at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, resulting in five athletes being stripped of their gold medals and 19 being disqualified? The IOC easily lifted the suspension and allowed the athletes to participate in the Olympics under the name of “ROC” after the 2006 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, despite the fact that they were found to be state-sponsored.

The IOC has easily lifted the suspension and allowed Russia to participate in the Olympics under the name of “ROC” since the 2006 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Of course, there is also the prestige of President Putin. They can’t pay out money like China, but they are using their information warfare skills to sneak deep into the IOC,” Tsuda said.

(Mr. Tsuda) I wonder if there is something in the information that Russia has gathered under the surface that would make the IOC tremble. It is not clear, but the method of using information to gain an advantage for oneself is a “specialty” of Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, a former member of the KGB, the former Soviet Union’s intelligence agency and secret police.

When Russia’s rival, NBC, which pays a huge amount of money for TV broadcasting rights, showed Walieva’s performance, the commentator, Tara Lipinski, a gold medalist in the 1998 Nagano Olympics for women, hardly said a word and dismissed it as “not a performance to watch. The U.S. newspaper, New York Post, reported the broadcast as “quiet anger.

The Walliewa shock is expected to spread to the sponsorship side as well, as the IOC has failed to take a firm stance on doping and has been lax on human rights issues in China. Companies are expected to keep their distance because they value their image.

The IOC is currently supported by TV broadcasting rights fees and sponsorship income, but its backbone may be shaken and the commercial Olympics may collapse. IOC President Thomas Bach, who is also a former Olympian, protected a 15-year-old girl who was suspected of doping as a result, not the Olympic Charter. If the decision by Bach, nicknamed the “Baron of Rip-offs,” accelerates the withdrawal of sponsors that has been going on under the radar, the status of the Olympics itself will inevitably decline.